Part 12

They occupy no one city; each city has its own settlement. On the arrival of any of the sect from elsewhere, all the resources of the community are put at their disposal, just as if they were their own; and they enter the houses of men whom they have never seen before as though they were their most intimate friends. Consequently, they carry nothing whatever with them on their journeys, except arms as a protection against brigands. In every city of the order there is one expressly appointed to attend to strangers, who provides them with raiment and other necessaries.

In their dress and general appearance they resemble boys who are schooled under a rigorous system.[332] They do not change their garments or shoes until they are torn to shreds or worn threadbare with age.

There is no buying or selling among themselves, but each gives what he has to any in need and receives from him in exchange something useful to himself; they are also freely permitted to accept whatever they choose without making any return.

Their Prayers to the Sun. The Refectory

In religious matters[333] their piety is unique. Before the sun is up they utter no word on mundane matters, but offer to him certain prayers, which have been handed down from their forefathers, as though entreating him to rise. They are then dismissed by the overseers to the various crafts in which they are severally proficient and are strenuously occupied until the fifth hour, when they again assemble in one place and, girding themselves with linen cloths, so equipped bathe their bodies in cold water. After this purification, they collect in a private apartment which none of the uninitiated is permitted to enter, and so, pure and by themselves, repair to the Refectory, as to some sacred shrine. When they have taken their seats in silence, the baker serves out the loaves to them in order, and the cook sets before each a single vessel of one kind of food. Before meat the priest says a grace, and none may partake until after the prayer. When breakfast[334] is ended, he pronounces a further grace; thus at the beginning and at the close they do homage to God as the bountiful giver of life.[335] Then laying aside their raiment, as holy (vestments), they again betake themselves to their labours until the evening. On their return they sup in like manner, and any guests who may have arrived sit down with them. No clamour or disturbance ever pollutes their dwelling; conversation takes place in turn, each man making way for his neighbour. To persons outside the silence of those within appears like some awful mystery; it is in fact due to their continuous sobriety and to the limitation of their allotted portions of meat and drink to the demands of nature.

In all other matters they do nothing without orders from the overseers; two things only are left to individual discretion, the rendering of assistance and compassion. Members may of their own motion help the deserving, when in need,[336] and proffer food to the destitute; but presents to relatives are prohibited, without leave from the managers.

Just in their control[337] of resentment, they restrain their wrath; they are champions of[338] fidelity and very ministers of peace. Any word of theirs has more force than an oath; swearing they avoid, regarding it as worse than perjury, for they say that the thing which[339] is not believed without (an appeal to) God stands condemned already.

Their Studies

They display an extraordinary interest in the writings of the ancients, singling out in particular those which make for the welfare of soul and body; through these they make investigations into medicinal roots[340] and the properties of stones,[341] useful in the treatment of diseases.[342]

Admission to the Order. The Novice’s Probation and Oath

A candidate anxious to join their sect is not immediately admitted. For one year, during which he remains outside the fraternity, they prescribe for him their own rule of life, presenting him with a small hatchet, the forementioned loin-cloth and white raiment. Having given proof of his continence during this probationary period, he is brought into closer touch with the rule and is allowed to share the purer kind of holy water, but is not yet received into the life of the community. For, after this exhibition of endurance, his character is tested for two years more, and only then, if found worthy, is he enrolled in the society.

But, before he may touch the common food, he is made to swear tremendous oaths[343]:—first that he will practise piety towards God,[344] next that he will observe justice towards men; that he will wrong none whether of his own mind or under another’s orders; that he will for ever hate the unjust and fight the battle of the just; that he will for ever keep faith with all men, especially with the powers that be, since no ruler attains his office save by the will of God;[345] that, should he himself bear rule, he will never abuse his authority nor, either in dress or by other outward marks of superiority, outshine his subjects; to be ever a lover of truth and to make it his aim to convict liars; to keep his hands from stealing and his soul pure from impious gain; to conceal nothing from the members of the sect and to report none of their secrets to others, even though threatened with death. He swears, moreover, not to communicate any of their doctrines to any one otherwise than as he himself received them; to abstain from robbery; and in like manner carefully to preserve the books of their sect and the names of the angels. Such are the oaths by which they secure their proselytes.

Expulsion from the Order

Those who are convicted of[346] serious crimes they expel from the order; and the ejected individual often comes to a most miserable end. For, being bound by their oaths and usages, he is not at liberty to partake of other men’s food, and so falls to eating grass and wastes away and dies of starvation. This has led them in compassion to receive many back in the last stage of exhaustion, deeming that torments which have brought them to the verge of death are a sufficient penalty for their misdoings.

Their Law-courts, Reverence for Moses, Sabbatarianism, etc.

They are just and scrupulously careful in their trial of cases, never passing sentence in a court of less than a hundred members; the decision thus reached is irrevocable. After God they hold most in awe the name of their lawgiver, any blasphemer of whom is punished with death.

It is a point of honour with them to obey their elders, and a majority; for instance, if ten sit together, one will not speak if the nine desire silence.

They are careful not to spit into the midst of the company or to the right, and are stricter than all Jews in abstaining from work on the seventh day; for not only do they prepare their food on the day before, to avoid kindling a fire on that one, but they do not venture to remove any vessel or even to go to stool.

On other days they dig a trench a foot deep with the _skalis_[347]—such is the purpose of the hatchet which they present to new members on admission[348]—and wrapping their mantle about them, that they may not offend the rays of the deity,[349] sit above it. They then replace the excavated soil in the trench. For this purpose they select the more retired spots. And though this secretion of bodily impurity is a natural function, they make it a rule to wash themselves after it, as if defiled.

The Four Grades of Essenes—their Endurance of Persecution

They are divided, according to the duration of their discipline, into four grades;[350] and so far are the junior members inferior to the seniors, that the latter, if but touched by the former, bathe themselves, as though they had been polluted by contact with an alien.

They live to a great age—most of them to upwards of a century—in consequence, I imagine, of the simplicity of, and their moderation in, their diet.[351] They make light of danger, and conquer pain by their resolute will; death, if it come with honour, they consider better than immortality. The war with the Romans tried their souls through and through by every variety of test. Racked and twisted, burnt and broken, and made to pass through every instrument of torture, to induce them to blaspheme their lawgiver or to eat some forbidden thing, they refused to yield to either demand, nor ever once did they cringe to their tormentors or shed a tear. Smiling in their agonies, and with gentle derision of the ministers of their tortures, they cheerfully resigned their souls, confident that they would receive them back again.

Their Belief in the Immortality of the Soul

For it is a fixed belief of theirs that bodies are corruptible, and the matter of which they are made has no permanence, but that souls continue for ever immortal. Emanating from the finest ether, these souls become entangled, as it were, in the prison-house of the body, to which they are dragged down by some magical[352] spell; but when once they are released from the bonds of the flesh, then, as though liberated from a long servitude, they rejoice and are borne aloft. For the good souls—and here they are of the same mind as the sons of Greece—they maintain that there is reserved a habitation beyond the ocean, in a place which is not oppressed by rain or snow or heat, but is refreshed by the ever-gentle breath of the west wind coming in from ocean; while to the base they allot a murky and tempestuous dungeon, big with never-ending punishments.

The Greeks, I imagine, had the same conception when they set apart the Islands of the Blessed for their brave men, whom they call heroes and demigods, and the Region of the Impious for the souls of the wicked down in Hades, where, as their mythologists tell, certain persons are undergoing punishment, such as Sisyphus, Tantalus, Ixion, and Tityus.[353] Their aim was first to establish the premiss that souls are immortal, and secondly to promote virtue and to deter from vice; for the good are made better in their lifetime by the hope of being rewarded even after death, and the impetuous passions of the wicked are restrained by fear and the expectation that, even though they escape detection while alive, they will undergo never-ending punishment after their decease.

Through these theological views of theirs concerning the soul the Essenes irresistibly attract all who have once tasted their philosophy.

Essene Prophets

There are some among them who profess to foretell the future, being versed from their early years in holy books, various[354] forms of purification and apophthegms of prophets; and seldom, if ever, do they err in their predictions.[355]

Essene Schismatics who Allow Marriage

There is yet another order of Essenes, who, while at one with the rest in their mode of life, customs and regulations, differ from them in their views on marriage. They think that those who decline to marry cut off the chief function of life—that of transmitting it—and furthermore that, were all to adopt the same view, the whole race would very quickly die out. They give their wives, however, a three years’ probation, and only marry them after they have thrice undergone purification, in proof of fecundity. They have no intercourse with them during pregnancy, thus showing that their motive in marrying is not self-indulgence but the procreation of children. In the bath the women wear a dress, the men a loin-cloth. Such are the usages of this order.

The Pharisees and Sadducees

Of the two first-named schools, the Pharisees have the reputation of being the most accurate expositors of the laws, and owe to this[356] their position as the leading sect. They attribute everything to Fate and God; yet they admit that to act rightly or otherwise rests for the most part with men, though in each action Fate is an auxiliary.[357] Every soul, they maintain, is imperishable, but the soul of the good alone passes into another body, while the souls of the wicked suffer eternal punishment.

The Sadducees, the second of the orders, do away with Fate altogether, and remove God beyond, not merely the commission, but the very sight, of evil. They maintain that good and evil lie open to men’s choice and that it rests with every man’s will whether he embraces the one or the other. As for the permanence of the soul, penalties in the underworld[358] and rewards, they will have none of them.

The Pharisees are affectionate to each other, and cultivate harmonious relations with the community. The Sadducees, even to one another, are rather boorish in their behaviour, and in their intercourse with their fellows are as harsh as with aliens.

Such is what I have to say on the Jewish philosophical schools.—_B.J._ II. 8. 2-14 (119-166).

Footnote 329:

Or “solemnity” or “sanctity.”

Footnote 330:

Or “of the affairs of the community.”

Footnote 331:

Text doubtful.

Footnote 332:

Lit. “with fear.”

Footnote 333:

Lit. “towards the deity.”

Footnote 334:

Most MSS “his breakfast.”

Footnote 335:

Other MSS “sustenance.”

Footnote 336:

Or “when they ask an alms.”

Footnote 337:

Or “display”; lit. “just stewards” or “dispensers.”

Footnote 338:

Or “leaders in.”

Footnote 339:

MSS “the person who.”

Footnote 340:

Or “roots that act as charms.”

Footnote 341:

_i. e._ probably, charms or amulets.

Footnote 342:

On this paragraph see Lightfoot, _Colossians_, 8 p. 89 f. note. Lightfoot, connecting the passage with _Ant._ VIII. 2. 5, § (6) above, regards the “writings” as Solomonian books and the Essenes as primarily dealers in charms, rather than physicians.

Footnote 343:

The inconsistency of this with the attitude of the sect towards swearing as recorded in a previous paragraph is remarkable.

Footnote 344:

Lit. “the Divinity.”

Footnote 345:

Cf. Rom. xiii. 1.

Footnote 346:

Or “detected in.”

Footnote 347:

Usual meaning “a hoe”; Lightfoot tr. “spade.”

Footnote 348:

See p. 152 above.

Footnote 349:

_i. e._ the sun-god, to whom they pray (see above and cf. Lightfoot, _Col._, p. 85 note 2).

Footnote 350:

As Lightfoot (_Col._ 363, note) points out, the passage must be read in connexion with the account of the admission to the order (above). A comparison shows that the two year period there mentioned comprises “the period spent in the second and third grades, each extending over a year. After passing through these three stages in three successive years, he enters upon the fourth and highest grade, thus becoming a perfect member.”

Footnote 351:

Or, perhaps, “the simplicity of their mode of life and their regular habits.”

Footnote 352:

φυσικός here apparently used of the occult laws of nature (v. Liddell-Scott Lex.).

Footnote 353:

Lit. “the Sisyphuses,” etc.

Footnote 354:

Or “superior,” “special.”

Footnote 355:

For these Essene fortune-tellers, see Lightfoot, _Col._ 89, note 1 (“We may conjecture that with the Essenes this acquisition was connected with magic or astrology. At all events it is not treated as a direct inspiration”), and the instance of Menahem, § (59), below.

Footnote 356:

Meaning a little uncertain.

Footnote 357:

_i. e._ “co-operates.”

Footnote 358:

Gr. “Hades.”

(55) Another Account of the Three Sects—and a Fourth

This account, which follows the story of Quirinius and the revolt of Judas, § (24), seems to be taken from the special source on which Josephus draws largely in the last books of the _Antiquities_. The style is difficult, and the text in places uncertain.

Among the hereditary institutions of the Jews, dating from quite ancient times, were the three schools of philosophy: the school of the Essenes, that of the Sadducees, and, thirdly, that of the Pharisees so called. Although I[359] have spoken about them in the second book of the _Jewish War_,[360] I will briefly touch on them here.

The Pharisees

The Pharisees practise simplicity of life, and give way to no self-indulgence. They take as their guiding motive certain traditional principles which their school[361] has tested and approved, and consider it a matter of the first importance to observe the doctrines which it has deliberately dictated. They show respect and deference to those who have gone before them, nor have they the effrontery to dispute any proposition which they have introduced.[362] While maintaining that all events are the work of Fate, they do not deprive man of free-will in his actions, since (as they hold) it has pleased God that the decision should rest[363] both with Fate’s council-chamber and with the human will whether a man takes the side of virtue or of vice. They believe that souls have immortal power, and that beneath the earth punishments and awards await those who, during life, have made a practice of vice or virtue: to the former is assigned everlasting imprisonment, the latter are granted facilities to live again.[364] By these doctrines they have gained a very great influence over the masses, and all religious ceremonies in the matter of prayers[365] and the offering of sacrifices are performed according to their directions. Such high testimony do the cities bear to their character, regarding them, both in their manner of life and in their utterances, as patterns of perfection.

The Sadducees

The Sadducees hold that the soul perishes with the body. They make no pretence of observing any rules whatever except the laws; indeed, they count it meritorious to dispute with the doctors of their school. Their tenets have but few adherents; but these are persons of the highest reputation. They have hardly any effect on practical life; for whenever any of their number accept office, they, reluctantly indeed, but of necessity, become converts to the Pharisaic creed, because otherwise they would not be tolerated by the masses.

The Essenes

The characteristic of the Essene creed is that all things are left in God’s hands. They hold that souls are immortal, and that the rewards[366] of righteousness are a prize worth a battle. Although they send dedicatory offerings to the Temple, their rites of purification when sacrificing are peculiar; they are consequently excluded from the precincts of the national shrine[367] and offer their sacrifices apart. In other ways they are most estimable men, whose whole energy is devoted to agriculture. In this particular they deserve more admiration than all professedly virtuous persons, because a habit which has never prevailed, even for a while, in any nation, whether Greek or barbarian, has been with them a long-established and uninterrupted custom. Their goods are in common, and the rich man enjoys no more of his possessions than he who owns nothing at all; this rule is followed by a body of men numbering over four thousand. Marriage and slavery they abjure, the latter as tending to promote injustice, the former as giving occasion for discord; they live by themselves and minister to each other’s needs. They elect good men to act as receivers of their revenues and of the produce of the soil, and priests as bakers and cooks. Their manner of life bears the closest resemblance in all points to that of the Dacian tribe known as the Polistæ.[368]

The Zealots

A fourth school was founded by Judas the Galilæan.[369] While they agree in all other respects with the Pharisees, its disciples have an ineradicable[370] passion for liberty, and take God for their only leader and lord. In their determination to call no man lord, they make light of enduring death in all manner of forms, and of penalties inflicted on their kinsmen and friends. Since, however, most of my readers have witnessed their unflinching endurance under such tortures, I need not dwell further upon it. My fear is not that anything which I might say of them will be thought incredible, but, on the contrary, that the narrative may fail to do justice to the fortitude with which they meet the agony of pain. It was the madness of this party which was the beginning of the afflictions of our nation, when [Sidenote: A.D. 64-66.] Gessius Florus, the governor, by wanton abuse of his authority, drove them in desperation into revolt from Rome.[371]

Such are the various schools of Jewish philosophy.—_Ant._ XVIII. 1. 2-6 (11-25).

Footnote 359:

Gr. “we.”

Footnote 360:

§ (54).

Footnote 361:

ὁ λόγος. Whiston, “follow the guidance of _reason_”; but ὁ λ. must, it seems, have the same meaning as in the corresponding opening sentences in the paragraphs on Sadducees and Essenes, (?) “doctrine” or “tenets.”

Footnote 362:

Text doubtful.

Footnote 363:

Another reading (κρᾶσιν for κρίσιν), “that there should be a blend between....”

Footnote 364:

Cf. § (43), p. 124.

Footnote 365:

Or “vows.”

Footnote 366:

Lit. “revenue.”

Footnote 367:

Lit. “the common precincts.” Whiston, “the common court of the Temple.”

Footnote 368:

πολισταῖς (_i.e._ “Founders” or “Colonisers”), Scaliger’s emendation of the MS reading πλείστοις; cf. the allusion in Strabo 296 to a Thracian tribe who live without wives and are called Founders (κτίσται).

Footnote 369:

Cf. § (24).

Footnote 370:

Perhaps, with a slight transposition of letters, “invincible” (Bekker).

Footnote 371:

Cf. § (39).

(56) Why John Hyrcanus went over from the Pharisees to the Sadducees

[Sidenote: 135-105 B.C.]

John Hyrcanus I was the son and successor, in the offices of high priest and prince, of Simon the Maccabee.

These successes of Hyrcanus, however, aroused the envy of the Jews. His bitterest enemies were the Pharisees, one of the Jewish sects, as we have already stated, whose influence with the populace is such that a word from them against king or high priest meets with instant belief.

Hyrcanus had been their disciple and was greatly beloved by them. Having on one occasion invited them to a banquet and hospitably entertained them, and seeing them in high good humour, he began to say to them that they knew how anxious he was to live righteously, and how in all his actions he strove to please God and them (for the Pharisees are a school of philosophers); but he besought them, if ever they saw him erring and deviating from the right way, to bring him back into it and correct him. His guests declaring that there was no virtue which he lacked, he was pleased with their commendation.

But one of them, named Eleazar, an ill-natured man who delighted in faction, remarked, “As you have asked us to tell you the truth and desire to be righteous, renounce the high priesthood and be content to be ruler of the people.” And when Hyrcanus enquired of him the reason why he should lay down the office of high priest, he replied, “Because we are informed by the elders that your mother was a captive in the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes.”[372] The story was false, and Hyrcanus was exasperated with the man, and all the Pharisees were greatly indignant.